Lucky/unlucky thread

[Andre1969]

I got rear ended in my 72 Ford Pinto and lived to tell about it.

OK, it wasn't very hard, and I'm pretty certain it had been fixed in the recall. Still, it's a good one-liner.

Ironically, the Pinto was one of the safest cars in its size class at the time, with the lowest death rates. As for getting them to blow up, I think we have Mother Jones to thank for that. They did a test where they rear-ended one with a '72 or so Impala. It didn't blow. I think the test was repeated a few times, but they couldn't get a pinto to blow up. Finally, they took an Impala, weighted it down in front, turned on the headlights and broke out the glass, and ran it into the Pinto at about 35 mph. THAT got them the results they wanted!

But yeah, if your Pinto was recalled and got the fuel filler fix, it was probably fine.

Of course, that "Top Secret" movie from the 80's sure didn't do the Pinto any favors!

 

[Nastywarnob]

Lucky story for me. I “fell” into a software development technology position with a major bank back in the early 90’s and carved out a long career there with the same firm until retiring early in 2024.

All this occurred pre-offshoring, pre-AI, and pre-FinCen competitors.

I’d caution any college students to pursue that career in that industry today. It’s not quite as bad as Kodak paper….at least not yet!

Also, one comment on the 911 stories earlier. It would be hard to fathom if for some off chance I was not in the towers even though I was supposed to be there that day. It would also be hard to deal with the fact if I had lost someone I knew and loved there on that day. Such a national tragedy.